HAUPPAUGE, NY:  — Dental practices demand that infection control disposables deliver quality, consistency, ease of use and value. DEFENDLOC PRE-FOLDED Sterilization Pouches meet all of these criteria and more. Sometimes a minor design modification can make a major difference in product performance. DEFENDLOC is an example of that. Mydent’s popular Defend+Plus Sterilization Pouches are already known for their safety and structural advantages — yet Mydent has found a way to improve them with DEFENDLOC.

The newly redesigned DEFENDLOC PRE-FOLDED Sterilization Pouch incorporates a patent-pending technology — making instrument sterilization safer, more effective, quicker, and virtually foolproof for the entire dental staff.

DEFENDLOC PRE-FOLDED Sterilization Pouches key features and benefits:

·      Safer sterilization with a complete and uniform seal of the pouch.

·      Quicker and extremely easy to make a perfect seal every time as compared to other competitive pouches.

·      New pre-folded flap closure folds perfectly into place, eliminating time consuming flap adjustment and helping to ensure the best seal possible. This helps eliminate misaligned seals that can compromise sterility.

·      Reinforced plastic pouch and rugged medical-grade paper guard against tears and perforations.

·      Award-winning design and fabrication emphasize durability and ease of use.

·      A strategically placed thumb notch simplifies pouch opening and instrument removal.

·      Pouches are constructed with dual internal and external indicators that change color when the optimum sterilization temperature has been reached, both in the autoclave chamber and inside the pouch.

·      Available in multiple sizes, this newly improved product is offered at the same low price as the original Defend+Plus Sterilization Pouch.

Mydent International is dedicated to fully maintaining its brand promise: "To provide the healthcare professional with the highest quality infection control products, disposables, preventatives, impression material systems, rotary instruments and restoratives at affordable prices, supported by superior service and 100% Customer Satisfaction."

DEFEND. Works Better.  Lasts Longer.  Costs Less.  For more information on Mydent International and the DEFEND brand of products, call 800-275-0020, or visit www.defend.com.

Madrid, March 1, 2017. Experts from the fields of gum health and diabetes met in Madrid on February 19 and 20 for the Perio-Diabetes Workshop, a pioneering international summit that explored the latest evidence on the links between periodontal diseases and diabetes. The workshop reached a new scientific consensus on how these widespread chronic conditions reinforce each other and produced recommendations on how dentists and physicians can work more effectively together to help prevent and treat them.

Fifteen specialists from around the world took part in the Perio-Diabetes Workshop, jointly organized by the European Federation of Periodontology (EFP) and the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) in partnership with Sunstar and with participation of CIBERDEM. Both the EFP and the IDF are considered as global scientific benchmarks in their fields of expertise.

Their conclusions were the following:

-Periodontitis patients have a higher chance of developing prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.

-While there are no data to support a causal relationship between the periodontal microbiome, the microorganisms involved in gum disease, and the presence of diabetes, recent studies do show an association between altered glucose metabolism in prediabetes and diabetes and changes in the periodontal microbiome.

-There is a moderate level of evidence that certain biological mechanisms mediate the effect of periodontitis on the control of diabetes.

-There is evidence that improving the control of diabetes results in improvements to periodontal status and that improving periodontal health has benefits in improving metabolic control and/or the complications of diabetes.

Guidelines drawn up by the workshop include providing oral-health education to all patients with diabetes and informing them that they have a greater risk of periodontal disease, which, if left untreated, could have a negative impact on metabolic control and may also increase the risk for complications including cardiovascular and kidney disease. Patients should also be advised that successful periodontal therapy can have a positive impact on their metabolic control and complications.

The Perio-Diabetes Workshop was held at the SEPA Gum Health Centre in Madrid during February 19 and 20. Discussions focused around three key points:

a) Evidence of pathogenic mechanisms that may link periodontitis and diabetes, based on a report authored by diabetologist David Polak and periodontist Lior Shapira, of the Hebrew University-Haddasah School of Dental Medicine in Jerusalem, Israel.

b) Epidemiological observational evidence on the effect of periodontal disease on diabetes, based on a systematic review and meta-analysis written by periodontist Filippo Graziani and diabetologists Stefano Gennai, Anna Solini and Morena Petrini of the University of Pisa, Italy.

c) Evidence on the potential impact of periodontal therapy on diabetes outcomes, based on an update by Phoebus Madianos of the University of Athens, Greece, who is also chair of the EFP’s scientific affairs committee.

The Perio-Diabetes Workshop was co-chaired by Prof Mariano Sanz (EFP, Spain) and Prof Antonio Ceriello (IDF, Italy). The other EFP participants were Prof Iain Chapple (United Kingdom, secretary general), Prof Juan Blanco (Spain, president), Prof Filippo Graziani, Prof Søren Jepsen (Germany), Prof Phoebus Madianos, and Prof Lior Shapira. Prof Maurizio Tonetti (Italy), editor of the Journal of Clinical Periodontology, joined them via videoconference.

The other experts from the IDF at the meeting were Dr Manu Mathur (India), Prof Ryan Demmer (United States), Dr Eduard Montanya (Spain), Dr Luca Lione (Italy), Dr Daniel Vegh (Hungary), and Prof Martin Buysschaert (Belgium). Representatives of Sunstar’s scientific and innovation strategy departments were also present at the workshop, along with members of the board of SEPA, the Spanish society of periodontology.

ANN ARBOR—Unavoidable vibrations, such as those on airplanes, cause rigid structures to age and crack, but researchers at the University of Michigan may have an answer for that—design them more like tooth enamel, which could lead to more resilient flight computers, for instance.

Most materials that effectively absorb vibration are soft, so they don't make good structural components such as beams, chassis, or motherboards. For inspiration on how to make hard materials that survive repeated shocks, the researchers looked to nature.

"Artificial enamel is better than solid commercial and experimental materials that are aimed at the same vibration damping," said Nicholas Kotov, the Joseph B. and Florence V. Cejka Professor of Chemical Engineering. "It's lighter, more effective and, perhaps, less expensive."

He and his team didn't settle on enamel immediately. They examined many structures in animals that had to withstand shocks and vibrations: bones, shells, carapaces and teeth. These living structures changed from species to species and over the eons.

Tooth enamel told a different story. Under an electron microscope, it shared a similar structure whether it came from a Tyrannosaurus, a walrus, a sea urchin or Kotov himself (he contributed his own wisdom tooth to the effort).

"To me, this is opposite to what's happening with every other tissue in the process of evolution," he said. "Their structures diversified tremendously but not the structure of enamel."

Evolution had hit on a design that worked for pretty much everyone with teeth. And unlike bone, which can be repaired, enamel had to last the lifetime of the tooth—years, decades or longer still. It must withstand repeated stresses and general vibrations without cracking.

Enamel is made of columns of ceramic crystals infiltrated with a matrix of proteins, set into a hard protective coating. This layer is sometimes repeated, made thicker in the teeth that have to be tougher.

The reason why this structure is effective at absorbing vibrations, Kotov explained, is that the stiff nanoscale columns bending under stress from above create a lot of friction with the softer polymer surrounding them within the enamel. The large contact area between the ceramic and protein components further increases the dissipation of energy that might otherwise damage it.

Bongjun Yeom, a postdoctoral researcher in Kotov's lab, recreated the enamel structure by growing zinc oxide nanowires on a chip. Then he layered two polymers over the nanowires, spinning the chip to spread out the liquid and baking it to cure the plastic between coats.

It took 40 layers to build up a single micrometer, or one thousandth of a millimeter, of enamel-like structure. Then, they laid down another layer of zinc oxide nanowires and filled it in with 40 layers of polymer, repeating the whole process up to 20 times.

Even molecular or nanoscale gaps between the polymer and ceramic would reduce the strength of material and the intensity of the friction, but the painstaking layering ensured the surfaces were perfectly mated.

"The marvelous mechanical properties of biological materials stem from great molecular and nanoscale adaptation of soft structures to hard ones and vice versa," Kotov said.

Kotov's group demonstrated that their synthetic tooth enamel approached the ability of real tooth enamel to defend itself from damage due to vibrations. Computer modeling of the synthetic enamel, performed by researchers at Michigan Technological University and the Illinois Applied Research Institute, confirmed that the structure diffused the forces from vibrations through the interaction between the polymer and columns.

From the project's inception as a challenge from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Kotov worked with fellow materials heavyweights Ellen Arruda, U-M professor of mechanical engineering, and Anthony Waas, ­­the Felix Pawlowski Collegiate Professor Emeritus.

Kotov hopes to see the synthetic enamel deployed in airplanes and other environments in which vibrations are inescapable, protecting structures and electronics. The challenge, he said, will be automating the production of the material.

The paper is titled "Abiotic tooth enamel" and will be published in the journal Nature.

Kotov is also a professor biomedical engineering, materials science and engineering, and macromolecular science and engineering. Arruda is also a professor of macromolecular science and engineering. Waas is also a professor emeritus of aerospace engineering and mechanical engineering. Yeom is now an assistant professor of chemical engineering at Myongji University in South Korea.

This research was supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, NextGen Aeronautics, National Science Foundation, Department of Defense and the National Research Foundation of Korea. The electron microscope used for the analysis was purchased with National Science Foundation grants.

A tailored preventive oral health intervention significantly improved the cleanliness of teeth and dentures among elderly home care clients. In addition, functional ability and cognitive function were strongly associated with better oral hygiene, according to a new study from the University of Eastern Finland. The study is part of a larger intervention study, NutOrMed, and the findings were published in the Age and Aging journal.

The NutOrMed – optimising nutrition, oral health and medication for older home care clients – study was started in 2013, comprising a 6-month oral health and nutrition intervention among home care clients aged 75 years or older.

An interview and an oral clinical examination were carried out in the intervention group of 151 participants and in the control group of 118 participants. The mean age of the intervention group was 84 years, and 85 years in the control group. The intervention group received a tailored intervention of oral and denture hygiene. They were advised to brush at least twice a day with fluoride toothpaste, and to clean interdental spaces, dentures and oral mucosa daily. Both groups were re-interviewed and re-examined after six months. The intervention significantly reduced the number of plaque covered teeth and improved denture hygiene. The reduction in the number of plaque covered teeth was associated with functional ability and cognitive function. Despite the positive effect, nearly half of the teeth in the intervention group had plaque even after the intervention. In the control group, oral health habits deteriorated during the 6-month follow-up.

Oral health markedly affects the quality of life, nutrition and general health in older adults. Cognitive impairment and functional dependency often lead to compromised daily oral hygiene. It is a responsibility of oral care personnel to plan an individualised and realistic preventive regime for elderly home care clients. For clients who need daily help with oral hygiene procedures, support in oral hygiene should be incorporated into the daily care plan carried out by home care nurses.

BIOLASE, Inc. announced it has appointed veteran financial executive Mark J. Nelson as its Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, effective March 27, 2017. He will report to BIOLASE President and CEO Harold C. Flynn, Jr. and replaces David C. Dreyer, who resigned December 31, 2016 to pursue other opportunities.

Nelson, 48, brings significant leadership and technical experience in finance and business management from both public and private companies. He has worked effectively in stages of corporate development, from start-up to turnaround to mature industry leader within the healthcare, scientific instrument, and consumer packaged goods industries.

Most recently, since December 2015, Nelson served as the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer for Beyond Meat, a branded consumer goods start-up, where he focused on fundraising, manufacturing supply chain redesign, and public company readiness.

Prior to his tenure at Beyond Meat, from April 2013 to November 2015, Nelson served as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Farmer Brothers Co., where he rebuilt the accounting, finance, and internal audit functions, established the company’s investor relations program, put in place several credit facilities, and helped to execute the company’s turnaround through the implementation of a corporate-wide restructuring plan.

“Mark has exactly the right mix of broad financial expertise and general management experience that BIOLASE needs at this pivotal time in our continued transformation,” Flynn says. “He has been both a CFO and a COO and is highly analytical, with deep operational and manufacturing experience implementing robust business processes. He has effectively managed through turnaround and cash constrained situations. We expect his contributions across finance, operations, and corporate development to be crucial in executing our near and long term corporate objectives, and we’re happy to welcome him to the BIOLASE leadership team.”

Nelson spent the majority of his career in financial and operational positions of increasing responsibility with companies in the medical technology and scientific instruments industries, including Plant Controller at C.R. Bard, Inc.; Finance Director at Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.; and as Chief Accounting Officer at Newport Corporation, a leader in precision laser technologies.

During his tenure at Newport Corporation, from April 2010 to April 2013, Nelson implemented the company’s international shared-service accounting platform, and helped drive M&A activities through the identification and integration of several acquisition targets. Previously, as Vice President and General Manager, he had full P&L responsibility leading the company’s optical components segment.

Nelson began his career as a Financial Management Program trainee with the General Electric Company.

Nelson holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College and a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts.

Brasseler USA^®, a leading manufacturer of quality instrumentation, unveiled the revolutionary XP-3D™ Shaper at this year’s Chicago Midwinter Dental Meeting. This revolutionary endodontic debridement instrument addresses the shortcomings of traditional NiTi instrumentation and ushers in a new biological standard of care in endodontic practice.

Simple: Unlike conventional NiTi files, the XP-3D Shaper features Brasseler USA’s exclusive MaxWire^® Technology that allows the instrument to expand and become more robust when exposed to body temperature. Once an adequate glide path is established, the XP-3D Shaper is able to clean the entire canal without the need for multiple files.

Safe: The XP-3D Shaper features a small flexible core (#30/.01) that is extremely resistant to cyclic fatigue. The unique serpentine design allows the instrument to gently abrade the inner walls of the root canal without the stress associated with conventional NiTi files.

Anatomical: Root canal anatomy has limitless morphologies. With conventional solid core NiTi files, practitioners are often forced to over-prepare or under-prepare the canal. The XP-3D Shaper features a unique free-floating adaptive core that allows the smaller central core of the instrument to move freely and adapt to the canal’s natural anatomy. This dynamic movement also creates enhanced turbulence for improved irrigation.

XP-3D Shapers are packaged in convenient single-use sets of three files for simplified handling and a sterile application for every case. XP-3D Shapers can be used with any endodontic handpiece but for the most advanced experience, use with Brasseler’s EndoSync™ Endodontic Handpiece System which features the lightest-in-its-class EndoSync Cordless Micromotor along with the unprecedented accuracy of the EndoSync™ A.I. Apex Locator. The EndoSync syncs with the AI to provide real-time apex locator readings as you progress down the canal.

For more information about the XP-3D Shaper™, visit www.XP-3D.com.

The American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association’s 74th Annual Meeting will be held March 13-18, 2017 in Colorado Springs, CO. This year’s event will focus on Changing Perspectives while exploring advances in research, clinical, and team-driven care of patients.

Attendees will learn from colleagues across multiple disciplines and discuss new and old ideas with those experienced in the field. ACPA's Annual Meeting is intended for health care professionals who treat and/or perform research on oral cleft and craniofacial conditions and all who are interested in cleft care and improving patient care and outcomes.

“This event promises to be one of the best ever,” says Bob Havlik, MD, 2017 ACPA President. “The Program Committee created a program that combines a broad-based educational program composed of cutting edge topics in cleft and craniofacial care with some outstanding opportunities unique to this year’s meeting and location.”

ACPA’s 74th Annual Meeting opens with a Pre-Conference Symposium focused on the "Pathway to Adulthood: Care at the End of Adolescence" and ends with a discussion of "Virtual Planning in Craniomaxillofacial Surgery". The meeting features more interdisciplinary panel discussions and reintroduces Advanced Courses. The program will include general sessions, topic-based breakout sessions, discipline forums, and networking opportunities. In addition, the event will feature a keynote presentation by Rick Guidotti, an award-winning photographer who will explore the cultural perceptions of beauty in modern society and discuss how this potentially impacts cleft and craniofacial patients.

“The program is full of great scientific and educational offerings, with an emphasis on quality representation from as many specialty areas as possible,” said Dr. Havlik.

The ACPA is grateful to sponsors of the event, including: KLS Martin, Stryker, and Children’s Hospital Colorado.

Exhibitors at the event include: 3D Systems, 3dMD, Canfield Scientific, Inc., Children's Hospital Colorado, Cleft Palate Foundation, Dr. Brown's Medical, Face to Face Colorado, Dash for Smiles, KLS Martin, myFace, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Orthomerica Products, Inc., Pentax Medical, Seattle Children's Hospital, Simulare Medical, Southmedic, Inc., Stryker, and The Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal.

For full details on ACPA’s 74th Annual Meeting, please visit https://meeting.acpa-cpf.org/.

The 152^nd Chicago Midwinter Meeting, held February 23-25, made another strong showing this year, with a reported 28,946 attendees focused on one thing: oral healthcare. With over 600 exhibitors, more than 250 courses, and major networking and socializing opportunities, this year’s event was again the place to be for dental professionals.

Check out our video tour of the highlights, which include the Oral Health America gala, Women in Dentistry breakfast, the major receptions, product launches, live patient demonstrations, and expert interviews.